Crawley P. Dake (September 15, 1836April 9, 1890) was a lawman and business owner best known for having served as the
U.S. Marshal
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...
for the
Arizona Territory from 1878 to 1882, during a time of notorious lawlessness in frontier towns like
Tombstone. A veteran of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, Dake was noted for his creativity and for his frequent deputizing of civilian posses after the
Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was passed.
Early life
Dake was born at
Kemptville, Ontario
Kemptville is a community located in the Municipality of North Grenville in Eastern Ontario, Canada in the northernmost part of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. It is located approximately south of the downtown core of Ottawa and s ...
, Canada on September 15, 1836.
His family moved to
Ogdensburg, New York
Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and de ...
when he was a child.
Adult life
As a young man, Dake moved from New York to Michigan in 1855 and opened a retail store. He held public office and ran unsuccessfully for Congress.
[ Dake married Catherine E. Smith of ]Romeo, Michigan
Romeo is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,596 at the 2010 census. The village is situated at the southeast corner of Bruce Township, with a portion extending south into Washington Township. Arma ...
. The union produced one son.[
]
Civil War service
When the United States Civil War broke out, Dake raised a company of soldiers and was commissioned in the 5th Michigan Cavalry
The 5th Michigan Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Michigan Brigade, commanded for a time by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer.
Service
Organ ...
. His regiment served in the defenses of the capital until June 1863, when it joined the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...
. Over the next month, the 5th Michigan Cavalry took part in several major battles, including the Battle of Hanover
The Battle of Hanover took place on June 30, 1863, in Hanover in southwestern York County, Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry, which was riding north to g ...
on June 30, the Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
from July 1 to July 3, and the Battle of Williamsport from July 6 to July 14. The regiment then participated in a series of smaller engagements followed by the Battle of Mine Run
The Battle of Mine Run, also known as Payne's Farm, or New Hope Church, or the Mine Run campaign (November 27 – December 2, 1863), was conducted in Orange County, Virginia, in the American Civil War.
An unsuccessful attempt of the Union ...
from November 26 to December 2. Dake was seriously wounded in the leg[ and retired as a major in August 1864.
]
U.S. Marshal
After leaving military service, he served briefly as chief deputy marshal in Detroit[ and for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. When Dake was appointed on June 12, 1878] as the U.S. Marshal for the Arizona Territory, Territorial Governor John P. Hoyt objected, but Michigan's Washington delegation prevailed.
Robberies
Early in his tenure Dake faced an epidemic of stage robberies. In May 1877, the '' Arizona Miner'' of Prescott complained that the stage robberies were now as frequent as had "Indian murders" during prior years. Associate Justice Charles Silent wrote the attorney general, telling him "this lawlessness... is paralyzing business." Dake observed that the robberies "have caused much inconvenience... to the businessman."[
Dake brought two men with him to set up the books and procedures to run the marshal's office effectively. He established a bonds program with the assistance of influential figures. He appointed eight deputies but found himself limited by the availability of funds to pursue outlaws. He was hampered by a federal law that required him to ask for special funds each time he wanted to pursue highway robbers, which on the east coast of the United States was rare, but which was unfortunately common in the Arizona Territory. Dake lost valuable hours waiting for replies to his telegrams and the bandits were able to flee into the mountains and even into Mexico.][
Exasperated, Dake finally refused to wait for permission in September 1878 when bandits robbed a stagecoach. Even though he was not authorized, he posted a $500 reward. Though successful, his pleas for additional funds were ignored by the Washington, D.C. attorney general. But by the fall of 1878, Dake, territorial authorities, and even the Mexican government began to work together in fighting the bandits. Dake sent deputies into Mexico without permission to pursue robbers who had stolen of silver bullion.][
]
Murder of Deputies Adams and Finley
At the behest of Judge Charles Silent, Dake deputized John Adams and Cornelius Finley.[ While traveling north to company headquarters in September 1878, less than two weeks after they were deputized, five Mexicans intercepted Adams and Finley, who they believed were carrying gold ore, and killed them, but didn't find any ore. One of the suspects in their killing was Florentino Saiz, who the ''Arizona Weekly Star'' identified as "the 1878 murderer of Deputy U.S. Marshals Cornelius Finley and John Hicks Adams on September 2, 1878". During the Coroner's Inquest into the death of ]Morgan Earp
Morgan Seth Earp (April 24, 1851 – March 18, 1882) was an American sheriff and Marshal, lawman. He served as Tombstone, Arizona, Tombstone, Arizona Territory, Arizona's Special Policeman when he helped his brothers Virgil Earp, Virgil and Wy ...
, Pete Spence
Pete Spence (born Elliot Larkin Ferguson; 1852–1914) was a small-time criminal known for his association with outlaw Cowboys Frank and Tom McLaury, and Ike and Billy Clanton, of Tombstone, Arizona Territory. Spence was also a suspect in the ...
's wife, Marietta Duarte, implicated her husband and four other men, including Florentino Cruz, in Morgan's murder. Saiz and Cruz may have been the same person.[ODMP U.S. Deputy Marshals Finley]
/ref> In 1879, the Mexican federal government refused to allow Dake to extradite two of the suspects.[ Unable to find justice in the courts for his brother's murder, ]Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which l ...
began a vendetta
Vendetta may refer to:
* Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight
Film
* ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke
* ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes
* ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), a ...
, and killed Florentino Cruz on March 22, 1882 at a wood camp near South Pass of the Dragoon Mountains
The Dragoon Mountains are a range of mountains located in Cochise County, Arizona. The range is about 25 mi (40 km) long, running on an axis extending south-south east through Willcox. The name originates from the 3rd U.S. Cavalry Drag ...
.
Struggles for federal support
Dake and others in the still rural Western territories pleaded with Washington for the means to pursue the bandits in their areas. Despite the presence of several hundred federal troops in Arizona, the federal Posse Comitatus Act
The Posse Comitatus Act is a United States federal law (, original at ) signed on June 18, 1878, by President Rutherford B. Hayes which limits the powers of the federal government in the use of federal military personnel to enforce domestic p ...
restricted the use by the marshal of federal troops in pursuing criminals. When Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
President Jay Gould
Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who is generally identified as one of the robber barons of the Gilded Age. His sharp and often unscrupulous business practices made him ...
complained in Washington D.C. about train robbers, the President's cabinet finally met and decided that federal troops could be used to patrol and protect government property, but not pursue outlaws. In 1879, Congress neglected to budget any money to the federal Marshal service, and Dake was forced to use his remaining funds to prosecute those he already had in custody.[
]
Deputizes Virgil Earp
On November 27, 1879, Dake deputized Virgil Earp
Virgil Walter Earp (July 18, 1843 – October 19, 1905) was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona City Marshal when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gu ...
to help resolve ongoing problems with the so-called Cowboys
A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia.
Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford
* ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...
in eastern Pima County
Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the populati ...
. In an interview after he left the area, Virgil said, "The first stage that went out of Prescott toward Tombstone was robbed. Robberies were frequent and became expensive." Dake was criticized when he was unable to resolve a long-simmering feud between the Earps and the Cowboys in the newly formed Cochise County
Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise.
The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city is ...
and for Virgil Earp's participation in the resulting Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between law enforcement officer, lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys, Cowboys that occurred at about 3: ...
on October 26, 1881. The acting attorney general ordered Dake to take action against the Cowboy faction, but Dake was replaced by Zara T. Tidball less than six months later, in July 1882.
Later life and death
Dake knew a number of well-known Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
characters, including Leslie Blackburn, Virgil and Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which l ...
, Joseph Evans, Joe Phy and others. Dake was heavily criticized and ultimately replaced after the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between law enforcement officer, lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys, Cowboys that occurred at about 3: ...
, and was charged three years later with misappropriating funds but was later cleared.[ By late 1888, illness confined him to his home.] Dake died in Prescott, Arizona Territory on April 9, 1890.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dake, Crawley P.
1836 births
1890 deaths
Lawmen of the American Old West
Outlaws of the American Old West
Arizona folklore
Cochise County conflict
Arizona pioneers
People from Prescott, Arizona
People from Ogdensburg, New York